U.S. Men in 2017 - articles & latest news

[Sylvia]

IceTown purchased the banner [2 for Vincent Zhou]. They have done it for other skaters such as Richard Dornbush, Dennis Phan, etc.

Thanks - makes sense!

Speaking of Dornbush... congratulations and much respect to him on his graduation from UC San Diego earlier this month -- B.S. degree magna cum laude ("major in Physics with a specialization in Computational Physics"). He tweeted a photo of his diploma, commenting with his usual dry humor: https://www.instagram.com/p/BVGifICAvmD/

 

[dawnie]

I think the ideal team will be Chen, Zhou, and whoever has the best GP season & Nationals among the others. Time to promote the new generation with the necessary skills it takes to compete with the rest of the world.

 

[misskarne]

IceTown purchased the banner. They have done it for other skaters such as Richard Dornbush, Dennis Phan, etc.

Slightly OT, but do they have them for Brendan?

The last time I saw greatness from him was when he won Skate America which I think will now be 3 seasons ago. He seemed a shoo-in for the GPF but then bombed his second event.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, no you freaking don't. Max's second GP that season was TEB. He made a couple of errors in his SP for which he was harshly punished (and you know it was bad when even Max himself expressed some surprise over the lowness of the score, and he never complains about scoring even when he's been robbed blind.). That was no different to what a lot of skaters did on the GP that season; however, skaters at other events were able to redeem themselves in the free skate, an opportunity Max never got because of circumstances entirely beyond his control.

I really feel bad this cycle for the talented skaters who are low on quads who effectively had the rug pulled out from underneath them in the last two years by the push for quad upgrades that few saw coming to this level this quickly.

What about the guy who had the rug pulled from under him because he was told over and over again "it's not all about the quads, it's not all about the quads, stop working on harder jumps and go work on your artistry" only for, all of a sudden, the USFS stance change to "it's all about the quads!"

 

[ChelleC]

What about the guy who had the rug pulled from under him because he was told over and over again "it's not all about the quads, it's not all about the quads, stop working on harder jumps and go work on your artistry" only for, all of a sudden, the USFS stance change to "it's all about the quads!"

You are so over the top with that, I don't even know where to begin.

You do remember though the landscape of the international men's field was very different in 2013 when Max won his US title? Artistry was KING then, remember Patrick Chan winning even when he fell because of his PCS marks? Remember Daisuke Takahashi in 2012? USFSA was entirely correct to tell Max to work on his artistry at that time.

Is the landscape different now? Yes, it is. However, I find it highly unlikely that Max would have ever been able to complete contend with Yuzuru, Shoma, Patrick, Boyang, Javier, or Nathan. He's not the same caliber of skater as them.

Max is not a victim of anything.

 

[meggonzo]

I'm open about this being what I want to happen and not necessarily will. There are plenty of people bandying it about as a "factual contenders list" who are leaving Max off it but will have Joshua on it.

Of course it's only YOU that's stating what you want to happen, and everyone else is out to get Max! Like the amount of people that state on FSU who they want to see or think will be on the Olympic team has any bearing on who will actually be on the team.

 

[Marco]

Of course it's only YOU that's stating what you want to happen, and everyone else is out to get Max! Like the amount of people that state on FSU who they want to see or think will be on the Olympic team has any bearing on who will actually be on the team.

You mean it's not a vote by us?

 

[RoseRed]

You mean it's not a vote by us?

Though that would be so much fun

 

[jlai]

Pluschenko would have been doomed under fsu-js

 

[misskarne]

You do remember though the landscape of the international men's field was very different in 2013 when Max won his US title? Artistry was KING then, remember Patrick Chan winning even when he fell because of his PCS marks? Remember Daisuke Takahashi in 2012? USFSA was entirely correct to tell Max to work on his artistry at that time.

I do remember. I also remember that the very next season was when it became apparent that quads were really going to matter on the world stage. I also remember that the USFS explicitly told their men at Champs Camp that they needed to be landing quads consistently to get on the Olympic team - which they then evidently changed their minds about.

 

[VGThuy]

I think Jason Brown just couldn't be denied at Nationals with the stir he caused. I know he was already named on the team by that point, but he went viral and I think blood would have been spilled had he not made the team. Some people who only watched that video probably thought he WON Nationals. And of course mental case Abbott decided to skate two incredible programs with quads at Nationals. I remember one poster being really angry that he landed that quad in the SP because it meant he really was in contention for the Olympic spot and knew we'd have to deal with the headcase drama of Abbott at Sochi if he made the team...and that poster was right. At least we had a few laughs with the "Eff you haterz!" moment coupled with the poorly-worded "window dressing" comments.

 

[Karpenko]

I've always really respected the way that Kori/Jason handled the Olympics/Worlds spot scenario in 2014. By all accounts they could've played the victim card, but they took the high road and supported Max at Worlds instead and chose to move forward. That took a lot of class IMO, I personally would've felt like I'd been a bit screwed out of a Worlds spot.

Thankfully it wasn't Max that got screwed out of a Worlds spot though, and he also handled himself with class and had a solid competition. Max always conducts himself extremely well, that's one of the reasons that I really like him.

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

You are so over the top with that, I don't even know where to begin.

Max is not a victim of anything.

No quader was ever discriminated against. In fact Oly winners have usually been those average in most things but big on jumps. Pluschenko, Gabel. Yuzuru - smooth (skating skills?), small expressive range, but huge jumps. But, I'm old. I'd no more watch some of these extreme-jumpers that a B kung foo movie. All that action and no content.

 

[morqet]

I do remember. I also remember that the very next season was when it became apparent that quads were really going to matter on the world stage. I also remember that the USFS explicitly told their men at Champs Camp that they needed to be landing quads consistently to get on the Olympic team - which they then evidently changed their minds about.

But when was Max even landing quads consistently? There's a lot of chat about it but you can count the performances where he hit all the planned quads across both programs cleanly on one hand. Or he'd land the quads and double something else, or miss out because he does two solo 2as instead of having a 3flip.

 

[jlai]

Judging preferences do change over time. Even IJS got tweaked every season to reflect the change in values in different jumps. You mean, people can be held to not ever changing their minds, ever. That's ridiculous. Heck, any of us has not ever changed their minds?

There is injustice only if two skaters get judged differently in the same competition, or maybe the same season. But anything is game across seasons. This sport has always swung back and forth between leaning on artistry and athletics and trying to find the balance. Usually, when the judges see a skater embodying the perfect balance of the two, the person ends up the winner at worlds.

 

[olympic]

I can see people putting Adam and Jason ahead of Vincent as of right now. The USFS put a less rough than Vincent Nathan Chen in third at 2016 Nationals despite having all of those quads. Adam was not able to compete at 2017 Nationals due to injury but was coming off of what was his most successful GP season and Jason was coming back from injury and skated in less-than-optimal health at Nationals. Jason has shown he is a competitor and could be counted on for a respectable to amazing performance and a respectable result. Adam is a question mark coming into this season, but if he has a quad and the judges continue to give him great GOE and PCS, then he could be a threat to Vincent. It will be in Vincent's best interest to make sure he upgrades his quads AND fully rotates them all of the time and to clean up his skating if he wants to be more of a sure thing to make the team. The types of scores Jason and Adam get internationally even without consistent quads is rare, but they get them and it makes them competitive. Now, once Vincent starts doing Nathan-like variety of quads, the situation changes. Cleaning up his skating will improve his PCS to make him more competitive with Adam and Jason there (even if there is still a huge gap).

Thanks for breaking down what I should've noted in my earlier post.

I placed Jason (and Adam) ahead of Vincent, for now, because Jason had scored a PB 2-3 times (?) this past season. He even did so after coming off of an injury and doubling a loop. A clean yet quadless program(s) from Jason would still have put him somewhere between 275 - 280 points from an international judging panel.

I think Adam is a little more vulnerable than Jason to Joshua or Vincent, but Joshua will need to be in 2015 form at least, and Vincent will need a full arsenal of quads and improved PCS to get past a clean Adam. I am not denying that that is a distinct possibility. I see Max as no. 6.

 

[Rock2]

Handicapping a national event in an Olympic year is almost a futile process although fun to do at this stage. It only has a little to do with skating and is more about how athletes manage their preparations and how they handle the moment.

For sure there will be tears and many of them will happen after the short program when some of our big faves will be lucky to make the top 10 as some will surely come apart. The men's and ladies SPs will be as tension-filled as skating gets.

And for the slightly older skaters who dare to add 1-2 quads to stay relevant at nationals, big kudos if they can pull it off. I'm not holding my breath (especially with Jason)

 

[kwanfan1818]

For sure there will be tears and many of them will happen after the short program when some of our big faves will be lucky to make the top 10 as some will surely come apart. The men's and ladies SPs will be as tension-filled as skating gets.

Argh, you had to remind me how my heart was ripped out for Amelie Lacoste?

 

[Doggygirl]

@misskarne are you related to Max?

 

[misskarne]

@misskarne are you related to Max?

I am not.

 

[StitchMonkey]

I am not.

Awww i though he was your spirit twin.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I am related to him









Through marriage

 

[Rock2]

Argh, you had to remind me how my heart was ripped out for Amelie Lacoste?

Darling, your first mistake was investing any emotion whatsoever in any Canadian lady not named Rochette from circa 1990-2013.

Let that be your lesson. Feel free to jump back on board. It's safe.

 

[kwanfan1818]

<3

 

[misskarne]

Today's positive contributions.

Max and Tarah Kayne got sent to The Principal's Office for being bad kids.

Max being a spinning goofball.

 

[VGThuy]

Today's positive contributions.

Max and Tarah Kayne got sent to The Principal's Office for being bad kids.

Max being a spinning goofball.

He's a seriously good looking man.

 

[tylersf]

I thought you were related to AngieNikodinov or were possibly her. But you're a man, so I guess not.
I miss Nikodinov too - I loved her skating.

I am related to him
Through marriage

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I thought you were related to AngieNikodinov or were possibly her. But you're a man, so I guess not.
I miss Nikodinov too - I loved her skating.

LOL, Im just her number one fan. HANDS DOWN!

Im her gay husband (in my mind)

Cool fact. We went to 04 Skate America and went to watch her in all her practices. We brought our then 2 year old son with us and she posed with pictures with him too. Still have them framed and on my shelves.

Cool fact 2: She ended up winning that Skate America!!!!!!

 

[Sylvia]

Vincent Zhou is the featured skater in this off-season's IN Creating the program series:

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2017/06/23/238251138
"Zhou makes music selection"

Yesterday Vincent Zhou shared photos of the 2 banners that will hang in his rink in Riverside, CA:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVsWLs1ljR_/?taken-by=govincentzhou&hl=en

Vincent Zhou gets his own banner at the World Arena as well: https://www.instagram.com/p/BV-EDoKl6PA/?taken-by=govincentzhou&hl=en

 

[DDNatalia]

Vincent Zhou gets his own banner at the World Arena as well: https://www.instagram.com/p/BV-EDoKl6PA/?taken-by=govincentzhou&hl=en

Wonder why they felt the need to blur out the names of other champions with banners?

 

[aftershocks]

Max being a spinning goofball.

Max is so supermodel cute in this spinning clip. Is that just a fan at the rink at the end?: "I love you sooo much!"